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Text Celestia calmly strode towards Ponyville with Scarlet Sage trotting beside her, the Pegasus filly now looking a little apprehensive: she could sense Atrus was nearby even if he was invisible thanks to all the time she had spent with the demon, but with Twilight waiting for them in the far outskirts, it felt strange to walk towards the gates of Ponyville... especially with the way the Nibelung started shouting the moment they saw Celestia, but the ivory equine was unfazed, saying calmly without needing to glance down at Scarlet Sage: "Stay close to me, do not panic, and do not let any anger or excitement get to you. I am here, and I will not permit them to harm you, Scarlet Sage... you're my niece, and my family." Scarlet Sage smiled at this, looking reassured before the Nibelung ran towards them, one of them waving and saying eagerly: "Fancy-corn, fancy-corn, sunny-fancy-corn, is been two weeks! You return and... and with little pony?" "Yes, I am back for now. My sister is not beyond reason or rationality. May we enter?" Celestia bowed her head courteously, and the Nibelung nodded hurriedly before the dwarf turned and ran quickly down the dirt road, beckoning eagerly to them, and the white winged unicorn smiled as she and the Pegasus filly made their way into the village, Scarlet Sage gazing back and forth almost rapturously with how glad she was to have returned. Ponies flooded out to stare at the sight of Celestia as she made her way into the village... but unlike Scarlet Sage, her gaze was less thankful and more measuring. There were more fortifications here than there had been in the past, she could see new buildings that looked like storage sheds, and many of the ponies were in uniforms emblazoned with a symbol she didn't recognize: not the old coat of arms of Equestria, but three ponies of different race in different color framed by a golden ring. As they stepped into the square in front of Twilight's old home, Celestia saw a crowd had already gathered, and Rainbow Dash shot down from the air to land in front of her with a wide grin on his face as Applejack plowed her way to the front of the crowd, the latter clad in an orange vest with that same crest on it, her own expression jubilant. "Oh my stars, it really is you, Princess... I mean, Queen Celestia! I... damn, just look at-" "Scarlet Sage!" Apple Bloom almost squealed, and the filly shot past Applejack to plow firmly into the Pegasus, who laughed brightly as they rolled backwards together. And Applejack's words fell short as she leaned stupidly to the side as Rainbow Dash flapped his wings to peer dumbly over Celestia at the sight of the fillies as they clung to each other on the ground. "Oh I missed you I missed you I missed you so much!" Applejack began to open her mouth, and then Celestia flicked her horn calmly upwards, and it gave a single bright pulse... enough to draw the attention of all present even as whispers ran through the crowd. It stopped Applejack as well, her eyes roving hesitantly back up to the ivory winged unicorn as Celestia said clearly: "As you all can see, my sister held true to her word. My horn is gone... and I cannot blame her for this act. However, she did show mercy... she did not kill me, and even after I... fell ill... she took care of me until I recovered. Now, she gave me a new horn, and freedom. "I have brought Scarlet Sage here because she is a child. She is my sister's child, yes... but she is also my niece, and a young filly who does not deserve to be in the middle of this fighting." Celestia gazed softly down at the Pegasus filly as she blushed deeply, sitting up on her hooves beside Apple Bloom... bu the two had their hooves tightly linked still, smiles on their faces as Celestia said quietly: "No matter what happens, no matter how different our stances... we are all Equestrians. I will not see families torn apart, whether they are related by blood... or in other ways. I am Queen of Equestria still, am I not?" Murmurs passed through the crowd, of worry, of fear, and Celestia frowned slightly before Applejack said slowly: "You're saying that... despite everything that happened to you... what, we should just forgive Luna?" Celestia only smiled, however, looking down at Applejack and replying cordially: "What I said is that I don't want to see families torn apart. What I said is that Luna, my sister, and Scrivener Blooms too, they are not beyond reason. After I contact the Council of Equestria at the Temple of the Sun, I shall have them set a date for a hearing. We will invite my sister and my brother to come forwards and justify themselves. We will settle this peacefully, without resorting to violence and bloodshed, that is what I push for." "Queen Celestia... you've been gone for two weeks. We thought you were dead. There have been some... changes... around here." Applejack said slowly, and Celestia frowned a bit as Rainbow Dash landed nervously beside his wife, but his eyes were hard as they focused on Celestia, and the ivory equine felt a nasty chill run down her spine as the crowd rippled around them. "That... isn't Luna. That's Nightmare Moon and a Tyrant Wyrm... and after Ragnarok, well, we ain't just gonna sit around and wait, that's what being part of the Starlit Knights taught us here. As a matter of fact, I talked to the Royal Council myself, and they had some nasty suspicions about what might have happened to you while you was stuck there in that black castle..." "Yeah. They got a weird letter from Luna, saying you were okay..." Rainbow Dash added, frowning up at her. "And now you come here, weeks later... trying to tell us all 'hey guys, it's cool?' Celestia, don't get us wrong, we're happy you're okay... but we saw what happened to Ross, and what happened to Cowlick, too. Cowlick, my friend, who they turned into a toy. And you want to... what, bring them to the Council and give them a slap on the wrists and a stern lecture, and that's supposed to make everything okay?" "That ain't what Equestria stands for." Applejack said quietly, shaking her head slowly, reaching up and patting the crest on her uniform. "That ain't why the Knights of New Equestria were formed." Celestia's eyes widened as Scarlet Sage looked up with a whimper and Apple Bloom slipped closer to the filly, hugging her tightly and gazing fearfully up at her sister as well before Celestia shook her head and said weakly: "I... I don't understand. But I gave up my horn... I... she's my sister, Applejack, and she's not..." "Yeah, we know. She's your sister. And I don't know if I could ever hurt my little sister, either... but sometimes you gotta do more than indulge, you gotta put your hoof down." Applejack replied shortly, and then she glanced at Apple Bloom and said quietly: "Come here, hon. Let go of Scarlet Sage now. And Scarlet Sage, I'm going to ask you to go with Rainbow Dash. Celestia, you should come with me... I can explain things better out at the ranch." Scarlet Sage whimpered a little, and Apple Bloom only clung tighter to the filly, shivering a bit as Applejack's eyes narrowed as she leaned forwards and said slowly: "Come on now. We've been over this, Apple Bloom. And Scarlet Sage, no pony here is going to hurt you, either of you. We just need to talk, that's all. We're going to talk, then find you a safe place to stay, away from that bad environment you grew up in." "Mom... Mom is a good pony... Mom loves me very much, she and Dad never hurt me or scare me..." Scarlet Sage whispered, shaking her head rapidly as she trembled a little, and then she looked at Apple Bloom, their eyes locking as silence twisted out through the group. "I... wait..." "Yeah, hey, wait!" added another voice angrily, and Applejack looked up in surprise as Pinkie Pie shoved her way into the crowd, glaring back and forth and with Pinkamena following, the demon making disgusted faces at the uniformed ponies. "Applejack, what's wrong with you?That's Celestia! The. Queen. Celestia. Of. Equestria. It's like being made commander or whatever of that group of yours has gone right to your head, I swear, especially after what you did to Twilight!" "Look, Pinkie, we've talked about this. Just stay out of this. And furthermore, our group was acknowledged by the Royal Council and now we're getting funding and supplies to protect our village, to stop another Ragnarok from happening!" Applejack retorted, and then she shook her head and snapped when Pinkie began to open her mouth: "Look, enough! I leave you and Pinkamena alone, don't I? Hell, I leave Fluttershy and that freak of hers alone out in their cottage, even though it's right near my own damn home! Everypony here is starting to get it except for you, that these things are dangerous, and we all know that Luna's more than capable of brainwashing a pony or two... and Celestia, I gotta say, it doesn't seem like Luna's the type to give nice little gifts without any reason. I mean, let's think about this rationally. You go away with Luna, sacrificing yourself... you come back with a new horn, Scarlet Sage, and all this nonsense about achieving peace through talk? And Scarlet Sage, you just... happened to be out here with Celestia? Seems to me like somepony is using that poor girl as a bargaining chip... or maybe something else, considering her powers. Now let's do this nice and easy." Celestia grimaced, stepping backwards and spreading her wings as a her horn lit up with a golden glow, and Applejack snarled and set herself, flexing her strong body as Rainbow Dash cursed and leapt upwards, hovering in the air as his eyes widened with surprise. Pinkie Pie whimpered at the sight as Pinkamena only snarled, looking hurriedly back and forth before shoving her twin sister rudely into the crowd to try and get her away... but although they let Pinkie Pie pass, ponies in orange and golden uniform quickly stepped between them, and Pinkie let out an angry shout even as she was dragged backwards through the gathering. Pinkamena growled, her eyes almost glowing as she leaned forwards aggressively, and Celestia's eyes glowed bitterly with coldness and horror at how true her own thought-paranoid predictions had come... but she had forgotten two things. She had forgotten how scared ponies had been from the horrors of Ragnarok... and she had forgotten that on top of their fear of the darkness, was the fact that so many of them seemed intent on blaming Luna for what had occurred. And with Luna pursuing her own desires, she made the perfect scapegoat... "Applejack, don't do this. I am not your enemy..." "Anyone who threatens Ponyville is my enemy... and you're standing between me and my goddamn sister, now you back the hell off or I swear to god, Queen or not, whether you were once the idol of all of Equestria or not, I will hammer my hooves into your head until you see reason again." Applejack snapped coldly in return, and Apple Bloom whimpered again even as she tried to drop lower, tears running down Scarlet Sage's face as she hugged the other filly against her, both safe beneath Celestia's shadow. "You've been duped, Celestia! Brainwashed! That's what I see, that's what I believe... because the only other explanation is that you're as bad as Luna!" Celestia's mouth went dry, staring incredulously at this pony as Rainbow Dash snarled and hovered in the air beside her... and then the rainbow-maned winged unicorn whispered: "Do you hate Luna that much? Do you really blame her that much for everything that happened?" "I call 'em as I see 'em. And what I've seen Luna do..." Applejack clenched her eyes shut, shivering once before she looked coldly up. "You're just showing everypony here what kind of a pony Luna must really be. A manipulator. A monster. We ain't gonna stand for that. And we are not her playthings, no matter what she and that sick bastard Scrivener Blooms think! Power does not give them the right to make toys out of us and to feed us to their pets!" Celestia cursed under her breath, her mind working rapidly. She needed a distraction, to send a signal... and she knew she could only keep Applejack talking for so long. And surrounded as she was, needing to protect Scarlet Sage – and likely Apple Bloom as well, with how much she was clinging to the Blood Seer – and unable to summon all her reserves of magic, she was at an extreme disadvantage even with her hidden allies, wherever they were... And then there was a powerful bang from the rear of the crowd, and a Greater Nightmare flickered into existence, sending ponies scattering in fear as the enormous, smoky equine reared back and shouted in a furious voice: "How dare you steal from our sister, Celestia! You will pay for kidnapping her daughter!" The ivory equine felt a moment of shock and surprise before her amethyst eyes lit up as confusion immediately spread through the ranks, and then she felt an invisible hoof pat her side firmly. With her warrior's instincts, the ivory equine understood as she braced herself, the first Greater Nightmare vanishing when several ponies rushed towards it... and the second appearing beside Celestia in what seemed to be mid-charge, crashing into her. The impact wasn't nearly as fierce as it seemed, but Celestia hurled herself sideways, hitting the ground and rolling with a cry of pain. And the entire crowd descended into chaos as the Greater Nightmare seized the foals and then simply vanished with them, Applejack shrieking a denial as Rainbow Dash yelled and shot into the air, looking wildly back and forth before he snarled as a Greater Nightmare flickered into existence, running to the east. "There, there! That way!" Most of the crowd surged hurriedly after the Greater Nightmare... which grinned widely to itself as its eyes slyly flicked over its shoulder before it began to flicker in and out of existence. It made it difficult to focus on but easy enough to track... while meanwhile, the other Greater Nightmare was already in the fields outside Ponyville, moving like a black wind with Apple Bloom and Scarlet Sage clinging to its back before it skidded to a halt in front of Twilight Shadow as she ran out of the Everfree Forest, the hood of her cloak falling back with alarm as it cried: "Sister! The ponies turned upon them!" "What ? No, why would they... I... Apple Bloom, is that you?" Twilight blinked in surprise as the earth pony filly leapt down off the Nightmare's back, looking a little ill before she shrieked when she looked up at the violet mare and her stitched features, and Twilight flushed deeply as she leaned back, shaking her head hurriedly: "No, no, it's okay! It's me, it's Twilight!" "I... oh, Twilight, what happened to you?" Apple Bloom asked worriedly, trembling a little, and then she simply dropped back on her haunches and whimpered: "What happened to everypony..." With that, Apple Bloom dropped her head forwards and began to cry, and Scarlet Sage leapt forwards and hugged her fiercely, Twilight sighing softly before she looked up at the Greater Nightmare and said quietly: "Inform Luna of what happened. What about Celestia?" "The ponies were easy to fool. It was almost as if they desired to be misled." the Greater Nightmare replied calmly, and then it glanced over its shoulder with a grimace. "But I shall hurry to the mistress. She will want to know of these events." With that, the Greater Nightmare flickered out of existence, and Twilight sighed softly as she turned her eyes to Apple Bloom, who was slowly calming down as the Pegasus filly stroked silently through her mane, gazing down at her quietly and murmuring softly to her. Twilight hesitated, but then she carefully slipped forwards and leaned down, asking quietly: "Apple Bloom... can you tell me what's going on in town?" "Not really..." Apple Bloom trembled a bit, looking up into Twilight's eyes, but there was no anger there, no hatred, like there had been in the eyes of the other ponies. "Applejack keeps it real quiet... and... lots of ponies are part of it but none of them... I mean, they're all really careful. I thought it was just a bunch of her friends and other farmers and stuff but... I guess that at some point they started getting real uniforms and... they make traps and keep Ponyville 'safe' but I don't even know what that really means, I'm sorry..." Twilight Shadow nodded slowly, sighing softly as she straightened... and she grimaced a bit at the concern she felt for Celestia, and then smiled bitterly at the relief that rose in her chest at the sight of the ivory winged unicorn soaring low through the fields towards them. Some things... never change. "Apple Bloom... Scarlet Sage... I'm sorry, but Apple Bloom, you have to go back into town." "But it's... I don't want to!" Apple Bloom cried, looking up with teary eyes. "It ain't like... it ain't like I don't love my sister, I love her and my brother and Rainbow all dearly, I do, I really do, but... it's like they forget about everything other than this... this quest, this crusade! I already spend almost all my time with Scoot, or with poor Sweetie, ever since Rarity went and vanished. I... I... they said you had something to do with that, and I know you didn't, because you've always been so nice, Twilight, but... I mean..." "I didn't. Don't worry, I didn't. I could never hurt Rarity or Spike." Twilight stopped, then made a face, muttering: "Not seriously, anyway. But Apple Bloom... your sister is..." "Applejack will not see reason, not when it comes to Luna. She holds her responsible and accountable... for some things, perhaps fairly. But for everything else as well. And the whole town has begun to see the same way." Celestia said calmly, the ponies looking up as she landed beside them... and then she closed her eyes and bowed her head, whispering: "I cannot apologize enough, to any of you. I... I didn't think things would change so quickly... I can't imagine how the nation became so warlike..." "I... that's not important now, Celestia. We have to get out of here, they won't be distracted forever, and now that you've left town they'll probably get suspicious. Apple Bloom, you... you can't come with us." Twilight Shadow hesitated, gritted her sharp teeth, and then she let out a sigh and looked slowly from trembling Scarlet Sage to the earth pony filly. "You can't... come with us right now. Not with Applejack like this, she'll come to Enstasis and ponies will get hurt." Apple Bloom closed her eyes, trembling a little bit before she nodded slowly and dropped her eyes, and Celestia and Twilight traded a look before the ivory equine said quietly: "Twilight, let's give them a moment." The violet mare nodded slowly, and the two adults turned and walked away as Scarlet Sage and Apple Bloom looked up towards them silently... then they both gazed slowly out towards Ponyville. A picturesque village beneath the beautiful blue sky... and both fillies closed their eyes slowly at the pain the sight of it brought to them before Apple Bloom whispered: "I don't want this to be goodbye." "It isn't. It isn't goodbye." Scarlet Sage said firmly, looking up with a tremble, and Apple Bloom smiled a little before the Pegasus filly met her eyes with her own crimson irises as they glowed with belief, with promise. "I'll come for you one day, I promise. I'll be as strong as Mom and Dad, and we'll be together. We'll find a place where we can all just... get along. I... Apple Bloom, I... I really... I..." Apple Bloom reached up and quietly touched Scarlet Sage's lips, silencing her... and then the two fillies leaned forwards, trading their first short, gentle kiss before they drew apart, trembling and looking into one-another's eyes before Apple Bloom whispered: "Then I'll wait for you, Scarlet. I promise." Scarlet Sage swallowed thickly, nodding once... then the Pegasus filly stumbled backwards before turning around and closing her eyes, charging forwards through the field and running past Celestia and Twilight as she blindly headed for the road back to Enstasis. The adults winced, both looking back, but Apple Bloom was already running back towards Ponyville even as she shivered and tears fell from her eyes. Celestia and Twilight ran after Scarlet Sage, but the Pegasus filly was surprisingly fast and had a far head start... and it was ten minutes later that they finally caught up to her, finding her sprawled in the road with her demonic protector, Atrus, quietly standing guard over her. Celestia and Twilight Shadow both halted over her, gazing silently down at the filly, and Atrus looked from one pony to the other slowly before he said quietly: "I have lived for centuries and never experienced the emotion you define as 'love.' Seeing this girl... I am both envious and thankful." "Love is dangerous, and dark, and evil. That's one of Scrivener's favorite things to say... and it's true." Twilight said quietly, looking silently down at her own hoof for a moment... and then she shook her head slowly, murmuring: "I'll carry her, Atrus. Let's move on." The demon nodded silently as it reached down and picked up the filly with tenderness and compassion in its huge claws, and the Lich stepped forwards, smiling faintly as Scarlet Sage was carefully laid over her back. Then Atrus stepped backwards and vanished from sight, and Twilight Shadow sighed softly as she started down the dusty path, muttering: "Come on, Celestia. Let's get moving, I don't want to have to deal with Ponyville's forces. We're going to have to get Fluttershy out of there, though... maybe Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena, too..." "For now, I think they're safe. It's... us... that Applejack has focused on, and because of her status in Ponyville, she's been pushed into being a leader. I saw... stress and fear and anger in her eyes." Celestia hesitated, then she shook her head slowly and sighed softly, keeping easy pace beside the violet mare. "Twilight... I'm sorry." "I'm really tired of you apologizing for everything." Twilight muttered, shaking her head slowly before she grimaced and glanced towards the ivory equine, her irises dark. "And I don't want to talk about this right now, or hear about it. We need to wait to talk to Scrivener and Luna, you can strategize with them, but my job is just keeping you and Scarlet Sage safe." Celestia looked almost hurt as she gazed silently at Twilight Shadow, but the violet mare looked coldly ahead before the ivory equine murmured softly: "Twilight... I'm sorry I had to push you away. I'm sorry I hurt you. And I'm sorry for how you feel-" "Don't lie to me, Celestia." Twilight gritted her teeth, and her stitches pulsed as her entire body seemed to ripple with the sound of stretching cloth and flesh before she forced herself to calm, taking a short, sharp breath before muttering: "We can talk about this later. Please concentrate on the task at hand right now..." A hesitation, and then she suddenly snapped, even as her eyes flared for a moment with old pain, with the old Twilight. "And that's not what hurts most, anyway! It's that you're just showing again what a hypocrite you are, pushing everypony away while crying about being alone, sacrificing the feelings of the people who care about you for power and guilt!" "You're... you and Luna and Scrivener, you're all doing things I can't... agree to, though, that are, for lack of a better word, evil..." Celestia started, and then she winced at the glare Twilight gave her, her rainbow mane stuttering as the winged unicorn lowered her head and her crystal horn shimmered faintly. "I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but it's true." "Twilight Shadow." corrected the violet mare sharply, and then she shook her head and looked forwards, adding quietly as some of the anger in her faded into disappointment: "And so what if we are evil? If we're evil, and Ponyville's good, whose side would you really rather be on, Celestia? We've never thrown you under the carriage... no matter how many times you've deserved it after everything you've done." Celestia closed her eyes at Twilight's words, knowing that bitterness and anger were sharpening her tone... but also that they were true, all the same. From the very beginning, after all, she had used them, betrayed them, hurt them... and the ivory equine's eyes slowly lowered to the ground as she ran onwards besides Twilight, her lip trembling, her amethyst eyes almost glowing with unshed tears. They were met on the road by several Ivory Elite and Nibelung warriors just past the halfway mark: the Ivory Elite escorted them the rest of the way, ensuring their safety, while the Nibelung ran down the path to scout whether or not there were any pursuers. Celestia was surprised at the efficiency... but at the same time, she knew that the present Luna was far more tactical than the past Luna, who liked to do everything herself and simply plow through the enemy lines. Scarlet Sage woke up as they were approaching Castle Enstasis, but only silently clung to Twilight's back, looking miserable... and Celestia gazed at her silently until they reached the Garden and passed Scarlet Sage back to her worried parents. Luna and Scrivener comforted her, held her close, tried to pacify her, but the Pegasus filly was miserable and finally asked quietly if she could just go to bed, and Luna had nodded before saying quietly: "Twilight Shadow will escort thee. Scrivener Blooms and I shall be up as soon as we can, beloved child, but first we must speak with Celestia." The Pegasus filly nodded in understanding, and Twilight smiled faintly down at the child, stroking through her mane before murmuring: "Come on, Scarlet. We can... we can talk about old times together. It might help." Scarlet only nodded a little before she turned and headed quietly towards the grand double doors at the foot of the hall, and Twilight followed in silence. Scrivener, Luna, and Celestia watched... and then Scrivy looked up and asked in a quiet voice, despite the flare of visible anger in his eyes: "What happened, Celestia?" "I was right." Celestia said softly, looking down... and then she winced a bit when Luna grabbed her under the muzzle and jerked her head up, her younger sister's eyes flaring with ivory light. "You were right? That's what you have to say for yourself?" Nightmare Moon's voice shouted from Luna's jaws, a snarl spreading over her features. "You put Twilight Shadow, our daughter, and yourself into danger! Danger you were barely able to escape, thanks to luck more than anything else!" Then Luna shuddered before trembling once, the light fading from her eyes and her voice returning to normal as she whispered: "Celestia, please, this is no small matter... we are all in danger if what our Greater Nightmare reported is true, and... I was scared, sister. Scared that they would have done awful things to thee..." Luna closed her eyes and drew slowly back, and Celestia looked almost surprised as a deep twist of guilt rippled through her stomach, before Scrivener shook his head and said quietly: "So you were right, Celestia, it wasn't just... lunacy talking before, paranoia..." "But it was. I was right for the wrong reasons, Scrivener Blooms..." Celestia smiled a little, shaking her head slowly. "And in this case, it means that even right, I was wrong... but that's not important. They're mobilizing, and they're arming themselves... and in the time to think I've had on the way back I'm almost certain it's because many of those in Ponyville were once Starlit Knights, and their experience of Ragnarok has made them all the more eager to defend against any threat. "Worse yet, they see you as corrupted, Luna and Scrivener. They're afraid... but who can blame them? They witnessed – and many of them were slain by – a Tyrant Wyrm, felt its evil, saw its power... even death cannot wash away the stains of fear such a behemoth can leave." Celestia looked silently at Scrivener, who shifted awkwardly even as he nodded apprehensively. "You are a Tyrant Wyrm, Scrivener Blooms. What many of them can only see as a monster. And you, Luna... are Nightmare Moon. Worse yet, Nightmare Moon corrupted by a Tyrant Wyrm, and perhaps by Ragnarok, since so few understand what truly happened." "What about the Royal Council? Strange gears are turning, sister, I received a letter from them that was almost threatening, saying that my presence would not be tolerated if I again tried to sneak an 'imposter' into their ranks. They seem to believe I created a false version of thee or thou art corrupted by me." Luna paused and looked meditatively over Celestia, muttering: "If I created a puppet 'twould be far prettier than thee, though. And not as large. I do not like that even now I am the 'little' sister in form and figure as well as age, even if by but an inch or two." Celestia smiled faintly despite herself at this, even as her eyes remained clouded and her head lowered slightly. "The Royal Council of the Temple of the Sun, the barons and baronesses, are acting out of fear, and possibly greed. But remember what I said before: I was a martyr. They have... sacrificed me for their cause, for a new goal: and whether it is for more power or out of an honest but panicked wish to protect their new nation from 'evil,' their goal is the same. They are going to start a war with you, sister. They are going to try and destroy you, because you are now what represents everything they fear and hate and loathe. You control the demons, the darkness, the night... you brought them back, yes, but how many of them must think for one reason or another you only brought those you wanted back, and how many more that you only brought them back to have servants and worshipers? "Our enemy... is our friends. Our former people... our... former people." Celestia let the words sink in as she repeated them looking slowly down and closing her eyes tightly as she whispered: "And look at what I have done. I caused this. This is my fault..." "It is not." Luna said sharply, and Celestia opened her eyes miserably as her younger sibling stepped forwards her and nuzzled her quietly, closing her eyes and whispering: "'Tis ours. Pursuing our desires without thought nor care to how Ponyville would react, even with many of them plagued by vicious memory and others... so hateful of us... it is our fault. I am sorry, sister, that thou wert dragged into this..." "I could have stopped it all. I should have stopped it all." Celestia murmured, looking down and shaking her head slowly, and then she sighed quietly as she looked silently up into Luna's eyes, then over at Scrivener, asking finally: "Where do I belong now? My own people betrayed me, just like I feared when I thought I was insane... but maybe I was more lucid then than I had ever been before. They denied my crown... I'm dead to them. They may have been confused by the Nightmares, but when I fled... that would have told them it was all a ruse. If I go back there..." She quieted, and then Luna and Scrivener both stepped forwards and hugged the ivory equine, Celestia looking surprised as Luna said softly: "Thou belongs with us then. 'Tis that simple... worry not, Celestia, we shall find where thou fits. We shall grant thee great gifts, and great rewards, for thou has done so much to earn them... worked so hard, for the light, and for the night. My beloved big sister, I always have a place for thee here in Enstasis..." "You're family, and a dear friend. We've all changed, grown, evolved... it's time for you to change, too, and find your new place here." Scrivener added gently, and Celestia closed her eyes with a shiver even as the poet smiled at her and stroked a claw soothingly through her rainbow locks, her mane sparking lightly around his digits. "It's going to be okay." "I... I need time to think." Celestia whispered, shivering a bit again before she slowly, carefully stepped backwards and pulled away from the two. They both only nodded, however, sitting and gazing at her as she looked miserably back, amethyst eyes confused and terribly alone before she turned slowly and headed towards the northern door. They watched as she left, and then Luna grimaced a bit as she leaned against Scrivener, the male wrapping a limb around her and settling a claw on her shoulder as she muttered: "Damnable Celestia. She is blaming herself, beloved. She is so confused, and realizes not that all she must do is let herself go... that there is no more reason to hide her face, or put on masks to please others. That now, she can be free." "It sounds like she hasn't been free in a long time, Luna." Scrivener replied softly, and Luna nodded slowly at this before the male smiled slightly, glancing towards her. "I know. Let's give her an important job... something special. Something very close to us... maybe it'll help her settle in. Help her see that she can be free here, that she has a place here. That even if things do collapse into war with Equestria... we are her family." Luna snorted at this, then she grinned slightly. "I believe I know just the fitting job for her, then, and even more, a fitting gift for her comes to mind, to help her upon her path... and well, I shan't push for war, Scrivener. But if it comes..." "We'll push back. We'll show them what evil monsters are capable of. We'll punish them for daring to attack us..." Scrivener licked his lips slowly, looking towards Luna before he murmured: "And to the victor goes the spoils, yes?" "To the victor shall belong Equestria." Luna agreed, and she grinned. "And all within it." Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story